JOHN MCGHEE AND FRANK WELLING - Hello World Doggone (Hello World Broadcasting Corp., 1930)

W. K. Henderson pocket mirror, circa 1930.

As previously noted -- in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Shreveport’s KWKH radio station, “aired anti-chain store rants, manipulated its signal to reach much of the United States, offended sensitive listeners with profanity, and aggravated radio commissioners.”  The cantankerous personality of station owner William Kennon Henderson is well documented in Clifford J. Doerksen’s “That Doggone Radio Man,” an excerpt from “American Babel: Rogue Radio Broadcasters of the Jazz Age.”

Henderson also financed recordings whose lyrics channel his usual grievances and include his famous exclamations (“Hello World!” and “Doggone!”).  These special pressings present a few unique, slightly puzzling qualities.  Here are the details as we understand them...

"Hello World Doggone" (Hello World Broadcasting Corp. no matrix, 1930)

Note: perhaps John McGhee and Frank Welling's December 28, 1929 recording with a non-standard Gennett label, take number 16031, issue number 20362?  Reverse side is blank.

"Hello World Doggone" (Hello World Broadcasting Corp. L-93-4, 1930)

Note: John McGhee and Frank Welling's circa October 1929 recording.  Reverse side is blank.

"Hello World Doggone, Part 2" (Hello World Broadcasting Corp. L-91-1, 1930)

Note: John McGhee and Frank Welling's circa October 1929 recording.  Reverse side, matrix L-92-1, contains identical label.

"Hello World Doggone, Part 2" (Hello World Broadcasting Corp. L-92-1, 1930)

Note: John McGhee and Frank Welling's circa October 1929 recording.  Reverse side, matrix L-91-1, contains identical label.

P. S. Thanks, R. Conner Montgomery, for sharing this additional KWKH record:

• W. K. (Old Man) Henderson "Hello World" (Hello World Doggone, 1930)
• Blind Andy "Hello World Song (Don't You Go 'Way)" (Hello World Doggone, 1930)

Source: Margery Land May, Hello World Henderson: The Man Behind the Mike (s.l.:s.n., 1930).

Source: Margery Land May, Hello World Henderson: The Man Behind the Mike (s.l.:s.n., 1930).